Media Advisory: Media availability for Great Crossing low-head dam removal in Georgetown set for Aug. 19

​FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 18, 2025) — Removal of a low-head dam owned by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources at Great Crossing Park in Georgetown, Kentucky – on the North Fork of Elkhorn Creek – is scheduled to start Aug. 18 and conclude by Aug. 29, 2025.

A media availability will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Aug. 19, offering reporters an opportunity to interview department officials about the project and capture photos and video footage. The site will be closed to public access throughout the demolition and bank improvement work.

The low-head dam will be removed primarily due to safety concerns and the dam’s structural problems. The site has been the scene of a number of drownings through the years, with the most recent occurring in 2021 and 2022.

Taking out the aging 200-foot-long dam will improve water quality and restore the creek’s natural flow for fish and other aquatic animals. Returning the stagnant pool behind the dam to flowing water is expected to benefit the fishery, with increases in species such as smallmouth bass, rock bass and native mussels.

For background, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife recently produced an informational video on the dangers of low-head dams - Low-Head Dams: Dangerous, Outdated, Damaging.

DETAILS

What: Great Crossing low head dam removal, Georgetown, Ky.

When: 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. (ET), Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025

Where: Great Crossing Park; Directions from Interstate 75 and US-460: travel approximately 4 miles on US-460 W and East Main Street through downtown Georgetown, Ky., turn right onto KY-227 N/Stamping Ground Road, turn right on Betsy Way, then turn left onto Great Crossing Park Road.

Who: Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commissioner Rich Storm; Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Engineering, Infrastructure and Technology Division Director Kevin Rexroat, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Fisheries Division Director Dave Dreves, and Kentucky Waterways Alliance Executive Director Michael Washburn.